A close friend of Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, who is alleged to have
received huge cash from former Minister of State (Defence) Musiliu Obanikoro on
behalf of the governor, has been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).

Mr.
Abiodun Agbele is reportedly detained at the Lagos office of the EFCC.

EFCC
spokesman Wilson Uwujaren confirmed Agbele’s arrest.

Fayose’s
spokesman, Lere Olayinka also confirmed the arrest

In a
statement, Olayinka said: “Our attention has been drawn to the arrest of Mr Abiodun
Agbele by the EFCC and we wish to say that we encourage the EFCC to carry out
its investigations without politics as it is being done now.

“It must
be pointed out that at no time was Mr Abiodun Agbele invited by the EFCC, and
if he had been invited, he would have honoured the invitation. Therefore, there
is nothing to celebrate in his arrest if it is not political.

“As
already pointed out, Governor Ayodele Fayose does not have anything to do with
any fund from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). He has stated
how his election was funded and Zenith Bank that he said funded his election
has not denied doing so.”

Fayose may
not be able to travel abroad for a while because of the ongoing investigation
of about N4.745billion slush funds traced to him, ex-Minister of Defence
Musiliu Obanikoro and firms linked to a former Deputy Governor of Osun
State, Otunba Iyiola Omisore

Fayose
risks arrest in some countries, especially the United Kingdom where he is not
covered by the immunity clause in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.

Some of
his former colleagues, the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and Joshua Dariye, were
arrested and quizzed by the London Metropolitan Police when they underwent a
similar investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The
Federal Government has a number of Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with
more countries which may make foreign trips difficult for Fayose.

The EFCC
has launched a manhunt for two aides of Obanikoro.

They are
Ms Idowu Oshodi and Olalekan Ogunseye, who the EFCC believes have travelled out
of the country.

Idowu is
believed to be in London. The anti-graft agency is “collaborating with the
relevant agencies in the UK for appropriate action about her”.

The clues
available to the EFCC suggest that Ogunseye must have gone to the United
States, it was learnt.

Although
Ikenna Ezekwe was invited, the EFCC did not find anything linking
him with the alleged fraud.

According
to sources, Fayose has been technically watch-listed by the EFCC since he is
under investigation.

A source
said: “With his accounts frozen, Fayose is already technically watch-listed by
the EFCC. His immunity does not go beyond the shores of Nigeria.

“ Nigeria
now has a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty(MLAT) with many countries and we are
not obliged to make the list available to any governor or political office
holder.

“He has
the option of staying at home or taking a risk to travel abroad like some
governors did in the past and face the wrath of the law. Some of these slush
funds drawn from the Office of the National Security Adviser(ONSA) have their
accounts domiciled abroad.

“Whatever
is the case, we are going ahead with the ongoing investigation of the governor,
ex-Minister of Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro and some firms linked to a
former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Otunba Iyiola Omisore.”

Ms. Idowu
is a director of Sylvan Mcnamara Limited, allegedly owned by
Obanikoro and his sons, which was allegedly used to launder the
N4.745billion.

Oshodi,
who owns 299,000 shares in Mcnamara, is said to be living in London after
parting ways with the Obanikoros.

The top
source added: “We need to interact with Oshodi and Ogunseye or else we may be
forced to declare them wanted if they do not honour our invitation. At a point,
Ogunseye was a signatory to the account of Mcnamara.”

One of
those who know how the N4.745billion was shared by Fayose, Obanikoro and
Omisore opened up yesterday.

The source
said: “It is true the cash was transferred from ONSA to the account of Sylvan
Mcnamara Limited. I don’t know why all the key actors have not owned
up at all. The EFCC did a thorough job on this scandal; there is no doubt
about it.

“When the
cash came, Fayose actually got about N2.2billion, not the N1.219billion being
reported. Also, about N1.7billion was transferred into the accounts of
some companies for Omisore. There are records of all these transfers to these
firms for Omisore in some banks.

“Out of
the hefty sum, only N800million was allocated to Obanikoro because it was
not yet time for the 2015 poll.”

“The
ex-Minister actually chartered a plane which ran two flights to Akure Airport
on the day the cash was delivered to Fayose.

“Obanikoro
was accompanied by a DSS operative and his Aide-de-Camp from the Nigerian Navy.

They were on the chartered plane with him. All these officers are still in
service; they knew what transpired. The flight manifest is with FAAN. Those who
loaded the cash onto the plane are alive.“At the
appropriate time, some of us will come out to testify on what we knew about the
slush funds.”